Summer

Charity marches into the North Dormer Town Hall for the Old Home Week celebration, and she is “[…] third in the white muslin file” and favorably impressed by the festive decorations. The minister leads the group in prayer, and the young women sing “Home Sweet Home.” Subsequently, Lawyer Royall ascends the stage to speak, and Charity notices that “[…] his gravely set face wore the look of majesty” (98). He appears well dressed and dignified and orates articulately. In his address, he alludes to the fact that he left the town as a young man for “for larger duties,” and had “come back in another way—come back for good” (99). Royall implies that his own return was necessitated by unforeseen circumstances but emphasizes that other young men who return to the town from the city should “make the best of it” and that “[…] the best way to help the places we live in is to be glad we live there” (100).

Charity searches the crowd for a glimpse of Harney and ultimately realizes that he is seated in the audience next to Annabelle Balch. Charity has an